It's hard to win in the NFL if your offense doesn't set the tone early and the Green Bay Packers know that as well as anyone.
They've only scored 10 points on their game-opening drives this season, tied for 19th in the league.
The undefeated New Orleans Saints have scored the most with 38 points in...
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2013-06-13 16:11:55

It's hard to win in the NFL if your offense doesn't set the tone early and the Green Bay Packers know that as well as anyone.

They've only scored 10 points on their game-opening drives this season, tied for 19th in the league.

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The undefeated New Orleans Saints have scored the most with 38 points in their first possessions.

It's not that the Packers don't move the ball from the get-go. The last time they went 3-0 on an opening drive was last November in a home loss to Carolina.

But quarterback Aaron Rodgers has led his Green Bay offense to touchdowns just 4 percent of the time on the opening drives of the first and second half. Brett Favre made it to the end zone 25 percent of the time in his final two seasons with the Packers.

But offensive coordinator Joe Philbin says the problem is not just execution.

He blames a mix of things and the coaches and players are about equally at fault. Philbin keeps special stats on Green Bay's opening drives of each half.

They've been out-scored 38-16 on those drives this season and 102-38 over the past 23 games.

Rodgers has never led an opening touchdown drive after the half. The 4-3 Packers will try again on Sunday, when they play at winless Tampa Bay.